By the Thinnest of Threads
by AnneCaterina
Summary: Lily hardly ever has time for Severus anymore. Finally, she agrees to spending an afternoon together - but someone comes between them.


**A/N: One-shot for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments), Assignment #3: Care of Magical Creatures: Take A Bow, Task #2: Take A Bow:****_ Write about someone folding, or giving in, under pressure._**

**Warning: blood status prejudice**

* * *

Thinking about Lily these days did nothing for him but wrench his guts. His best friend, his only real friend, was slipping away. He kept asking her to spend breaks together, study together, just take a short walk, anything. But somehow, she always had prior plans. Hence, it wasn't Severus' fault that he was forced to hang out with Ulfric and Lugh.

As if to confirm Severus' misgivings about his present company, Lugh shouted, "Brilliant!" his voice cracking and shrieking.

Severus looked at Ulfric and asked, in a bored voice, "What is supposed to be brilliant?"

Ulfric slid a piece of parchment over the common room table toward Severus. It said "Keep Hogwarts clean! Keep Magic pure!" Underneath that headline, there was a short paragraph demanding to "remove all Mudbloods" from the school. Severus ran his eyes down the list of names following that paragraph. A prickling sensation rolled through him when he saw Lily's name. He wasn't surprised. But it irked him to see her name in Ulfric's handwriting. Severus gave a humourless laugh and shoved the parchment back at the other two.

"Told you he wouldn't be impressed," Lugh said. "Not when his darling _Evans_ is on there."

Severus shot Lugh a quick look that he hoped would seem dangerous. The two boys' snickering confirmed his fear that it had looked merely meek and guilty.

"You seriously need to stop hanging out with Mudbloods, Snapey," said Ulfric. "I get it, she's a redhead and all that. But what about Victoria Satterthwaite? She's got red hair. And you should see her coming down a staircase. Everything on her just moves, you know. In a Slytherin way."

Lugh whistled through his teeth and Severus knit his brow. "What does that even mean?" he asked.

"It means that you need to stop associating yourself with Mudbloods," Ulfric said. "Anyway, did we forget anyone on the list?"

"That list is stupid. Who do you even want to send it to, Dumbledore?"

"No, he's a lost cause. We'll post the list all over the castle, try to reel in like-minded students. We need to rally as many people as possible and bring this issue up with the board of governors."

"Are you two planning on signing your names under that list?"

"Of course not, we're not stupid," Ulfric said. "We'll add a line saying that people who approve should touch their wand to the list. They will get a small mark behind their left ear for a few days. Then, we just need to find the people who have the mark and talk to them one-on-one. That's why you need to participate, Severus. If it's just me and Lugh, talking to so many people will be nearly impossible."

Severus clenched his jaw. Word of what they were doing would get around. If Lily heard that he was rallying for an anti-Muggleborn lobby, the small thread of friendship that still connected them would snap. "Forget it. This is dumb," he said and got up. Ulfric sighed as Severus left the Slytherin common room.

Severus walked to the library, hoping that Lily would be there. His heart made an involuntary leap when he saw her dark red crown peek out of a group of heads stuck together around a library table. He walked towards the table but stopped abruptly when he remembered the last time he had tried to talk to Lily while she had been surrounded by fellow Gryffindor girls. The contempt in their eyes had nearly burned his skin. And Mary Fleetwood had edged herself between Lily and him and said, "Lily will _never_ go out with you. Don't you get that, spaz? Crawl back into your cellar!"

Lily had mouthed, "Sorry" to Severus, who was at a complete loss for words. Then, the girls had walked away, chatting happily as if nothing was amiss, Lily in their midst.

Mary was among the group who sat around the library table now. She turned her head towards where Severus stood, her brows creased. As if she had smelled him. Quickly, Severus stepped behind a bookshelf, hoping Mary hadn't seen him. He took a few books off the shelves at random and sat down at an empty table, out of sight of the Gryffindors.

It had gotten dark outside. The tips of his hair brushed the parchment as he sat working, writing an essay for History of Magic. While he was in the middle of his last paragraph, Madam Pince started shooing students out of the library. Severus packed up his parchment and quill and took the books.

"I'll put this back, Mr. Snape."

Severus jumped a little, as he hadn't seen her coming. He handed the books to the librarian, who took them with a stern gaze. She turned the topmost book over twice, then gave him a small smile and said, "Now, off you go, to bed. Children need their sleep." Severus winced. At fourteen, he hardly felt that anyone was justified calling him a "child".

He hurried along the ground floor corridor that led towards the staircase to the dungeons, his leather bag swinging at his side, when a voice arrested him.

"Mister Snape! Will you step into my office please?"

The voice belonged to Professor Atherton, the Muggle Studies teacher. Severus stood rooted to the spot, staring at her, frowning.

"I won't ask again!" she said sharply.

"What is this about?" Severus asked.

"Something you will not want to discuss in the hallway."

Bemused, Severus followed her into her office. She walked around her desk and sat down in a leather office chair. Severus took the wooden chair in front of her desk. Expectantly, he looked up at the teacher.

"Mister Snape, it has come to my attention that you have taken to following girls around, lurking in corners and watching them. I will have you know that such deviant behaviour is not accepted at Hogwarts. You will come to my office every Saturday and Sunday for the next four weeks to receive detention."

Severus eyes had widened. "Who said that about me?"

"I will certainly not disclose the student's name! Now leave, you are already late."

Severus jumped up, his jaw clenched. Professor Atherton gave him an impatient look and pointed at her door with an outstretched arm. Severus glowered at her for a short moment before he gave in and left.

He walked back to the dungeons fuming. In the Slytherin common room, Lucius stopped him, his Prefect badge gleaming, a look of mild disgust on his face. "Shame on you, Severus. You are making me deduct points from my own house. Two points from Slytherin for being out in the castle after hours."

"Stupid Atherton made me late."

"Oh?" Lucius sounded interested. "What would the Muggle Studies teacher want from you?"

"She gave me detention because of a silly rumour."

"And what was the rumour about?"

"Nothing," Severus said, avoiding Lucius' eyes.

"If you tell me, I can talk to Professor Slughorn. Surely, if it's just a rumour, you won't want to be in detention? Especially not with the Muggle Studies teacher?"

"I'll do the detention," Severus murmured. Between four weekends with Atherton and telling Lucius that he had been accused of stalking a Gryffindor Muggleborn, Severus knew which option was the wiser one to choose.

When he came into his dormitory, he quietly said to Ulfric, "I have a better idea than your silly list."

The next afternoon, Severus picked a quiet corner in the Slytherin common room and told Lugh and Ulfric his idea.

"There is this delegation of wizards from Vietnam coming to visit Hogwarts, right? Dumbledore told Slughorn and Atherton to greet them at Hogsmeade station and escort them to Hogwarts. And Slughorn has asked me to research customs of Vietnamese wizards."

"So? What does that have to do with Mudbloods?" Lugh asked.

"Slughorn doesn't actually want to do it, it's a long walk down to Hogsmeade and back. He's been whining to me about it. I will keep suggesting to him that he should let Atherton go by herself."

"I still don't see the point," Ulfric said.

"Well, I will give Slughorn all the research about Vienamese customs that I did. He will hand it on to Atherton. Now, here is the important part: The research will be fake. I will make up something ridiculous, so Atherton will make a fool out of herself."

Ulfric gave Severus a disbelieving look. "That's the most boring thing I have ever heard. We'll do the list."

"But don't you see," Severus insisted. "The Vietnamese wizards will definitely complain about her to Dumbledore. She might even get fired!"

"So what," Lugh shrugged.

Severus threw his arms up in frustration. "She's a— a Mudblood! Giving her a bad name in the light of a visiting delegation of foreign wizards will have a big impact! It might even make it into the _Daily Prophet_. If we want to turn the Ministry's attention towards Muggleborns, this is a far better way than posting some list with information everyone knows already."

Ulfric sighed. "I guess I'll think about it."

Severus let out a breath of relief.

"I still like the list," Lugh muttered.

Severus spent his free time the in the next few days researching Vietnamese wizarding customs. He wrote down everything that would be regarded as proper and polite. How to greet, who to greet first, which common British customs and gestures to avoid. If the foreign wizards reacted strongly to Atherton from the very start, she would know that something was up. No, she had to feel like she slipped up all by herself. So, close to the end, Severus slipped in one line that would seem general and minor: "Show respect and politeness by frequently saying 'Thank you' and looking people in the eyes."

In the travel journal that he used as his primary source, a Scottish wizard who was traveling through Asia had detailed that looking someone directly in the eyes could be a sign of disrespect and aggression, especially when the person was older or a superior. Severus was quite sure that the delegation would consist of senior wizards and witches that were held in high regard in their home country. And if Atherton said "Thank you" a lot, the visitors would deem her conceited.

Back in the common room, Severus could hardly wait to show his research to Ulfric and Lugh. Ulfric took the piece of parchment with an eyeroll and glanced over it.

"Right," he said. "But what if Atherton realizes that something is up? All she needs to do is ask Slughorn who wrote this and you're toast."

Severus briskly shook his head. "Slughorn was supposed to do this himself, he told me so. He will take the blame, brushing it off in front of Dumbledore rather than admit he delegated the task to a student. And Dumbledore will probably guess at the truth, but not press the matter further because he and Slughorn are old friends."

Lugh raised his brows. "That is some serious mental gymnastics you're doing there, Snape."

"Trust me, it'll work! And it will give Muggleborns a much worse reputation than posting that list of yours." Severus face was set. He would not let himself be talked out of his idea.

"Fine," Ulfric said. But we still need to rally people, start a real anti-Mudblood movement."

Severus was so relieved by Ulfric being on board that he said, "We can still do that. I'll help you come up with a more subtle way than posting a list all over the school."

That night, Severus went to bed feeling buoyant and excited. He'd go over his research once more tomorrow afternoon, making it as refined and well-written as possible.

But also, there was Potions to look forward to tomorrow. He'd have a chance to talk to Lily.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When he sat down next to Lily, she gave him a stiff smile. Severus wasn't sure whether she felt bad about Mary ratting him out to Atherton – for Severus was sure that it had been Mary – or whether maybe he himself had done something wrong. Lily was very hard to read these days. When they were younger, she had told him everything. But now, he mostly had to settle on guessing at her thoughts.

They started working on their potions. When everyone's cauldron had started bubbling and hissing loudly, Severus asked Lily quietly, "Can we spend some time together this weekend? Maybe go for a walk or something?"

Lily didn't look at him and said, "I'll see what I can do."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I don't know if I have time yet."

"Do you have a lot of homework? We can do homework together, then we'll be faster."

"Thanks, I'll do my homework at the Gryffindor common room. Is cozier than the library."

"Then we can just meet for a short time, an hour or so."

Lily sighed.

Severus pressed on, "Please, can you answer me? Why don't you want to see me anymore?"

"Severus…" she finally looked at him. "It's not exactly easy for me to be friends with you, you know. You're hanging out with Ulfric Mulciber and Lugh Avery a lot. These two are horrible, you have to know that. None of my friends understand why I'm even friends with you. And it doesn't help that you're always hovering somewhere in the distance, watching me and my friends. It's creepy."

A cold fist was squeezing Severus' heart. "I'm not—I don't _hover._"

"You kind of do. Mary is not wrong about that."

"She is poisoning you against me!" Severus snarled. "She is saying whatever she needs to make you hate me!"

"Well, _are_ you spending time with Avery and Mulciber?" Lily's eyes were flashing.

Severus recoiled a little, "Well—"

"So yes."

"I will stop, I promise. I will never look at them again. I don't even like them all that much."

"I should hope so," Lily said.

"It's just… I don't have that many friends. And you are my best friend. I would always choose you over anyone else."

Lily's gaze softened. "Alright," she said. "Meet me on Sunday at one, by the lake. We can take a walk."

Severus' heart instantly melted and he felt a weight drop of his shoulder. He'd make everything right. He'd avoid Ulfric and Lugh from now on and not let himself be drawn into anyone's schemes. Maybe, he should even throw away his research for Atherton and write a new one, with no falsified facts on it. He'd be the person he needed to be for Lily. She was worth everything in the world.

The next few days, Severus felt wonderful. Everything would be fine again. He stayed away from Ulfric and Lugh, but they didn't seem to care much. All the better. It was only on Saturday at breakfast when he remembered that he had detention with Atherton the entire weekend. Which included Sunday. He wouldn't be able to meet Lily. Al the blood drained from him. He had to make Atherton let him go. Maybe he could make up an emergency?

Right after breakfast, he reported to Atherton's office.

"Come in," she called.

"Good morning," Severus said after he had closed the door behind himself. "I am here for my detention."

"Quite so." Atherton threw him a disapproving look. She stood up and walked to a large cupboard on the other side of her office. She opened the doors and some books toppled out and fell to the floor. Atherton ignored them and turned to Severus. "This is a vast collection of novels written by Muggle writers. You will take one of these cards" – she held up a wooden box with index cards – "and write down the author, title, year it was written, number of the edition, and the publisher as well as the synopsis. Then you will sort the cards by last name of the author and make sure that the books in the cupboard are in the same order as the cards."

Severus looked at the inside of the cupboard. The books had been stuffed in there haphazardly, some lined up, others stacked on top of them; and they seemed to be several rows deep. No wonder Atherton had wanted him for four whole weekends.

Severus briskly walked to the cupboard, took the box with the cards and picked up the books that had fallen. He sat down at a small desk close to the cupboard and started writing.

He skipped dinner and Atherton had to physically take his quill out of his hand to make him stop when she herself wanted to go to bed.

"You're doing this like your life depends on it," Atherton said with the merest hint of curiosity in her voice. She took one of the finished cards out of the box and read it. After a pause she said, "Acceptable. Now, off to bed with you."

Severus hesitated. "I was wondering… I have a lot of homework and I was wondering whether you could give me tomorrow afternoon off? So I don't fall behind on my schoolwork?"

Atherton narrowed her eyes, but then looked at the box again, and at the neatly lined-up books on the uppermost shelf of the cupboard. "Fine, Mr. Snape. But If you don't finish this task within the time I assigned to you, I will prolong your detention."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you." Severus tried not to show his glee as he left her office.

At a quarter to one the next day, he rushed down the stairs into the entrance hall, across the grounds and towards the lake. Lily's hair shone like dark copper in the cool spring sun. But she wasn't alone. Mary Fleetwood was with her. Mary greeted Severus with crossed arms.

"I knew it!" she said. And, to Lily, "you're _still_ hanging out with him?"

Lily looked pained. She moved her mouth, but nothing came out.

"Yeah, well," Severus said. "Lily and I are friends. I'd suggest you stop interfering."

Mary scoffed. "I'm trying to protect her from you!"

"Oh really!" Severus retorted. "By telling lies about me? If anything, she needs protection from _you_!"

"Lies, are they? Do you think I can't trust my own eyes when I see you all the time, staring at her?"

"I'm just trying to talk to my friend while she's not surrounded by poison like you!"

"Poison? That's rich, coming from a Slytherin!"

"Better than some so-called _brave_ Gryffindor wannabe hero. You're not protecting her, you just want her all to yourself!"

"And you don't? That's the real issue here, isn't it? You're sore that you can't just lock her up in your dungeon, keep her away from everyone else in the world!"

"I just want to talk to her!"

For the first time since he had arrived at the lake, Severus looked at Lily. Her eyes were dark. "Have any of you ever considered asking _me_ what I want?"

Both Severus and Mary were dumbstruck.

"How about," Lily continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "you two take all the time you need to decide who gets to _own_ me and get back to me? Does that sound good?" She shot them a disgusted look and stormed off.

Severus ran after her and grabbed her arm, saying, "Lily, wait, please, I—"

"Leave me alone!" Lily tore her arm away and walked faster. Severus stood looking after her, feeling like he had been punched in the stomach.

He turned to Mary, wand in hand, a hex charged up in his mind. But Mary rushed past him, catching up with Lily as she entered the castle. With a frustrated scream, Severus shot the hex into the lake, where it bounced off the water a few times before petering out.

He ran back to the castle and into the Slytherin common room. Ulfric and Lugh were lounging on a black leather sofa, making parchment dragons fly into the fireplace. The both looked up in surprise when Severus stormed in, took his research on Vietnamese wizards out of his bag, crumpled it up and threw it into the fire. He whirled around to face the two boys "You still have that list?" he asked. "Post it. Make sure Mary Fleetwood is on it."

"Is she even a Mudblood?" asked Lugh.

"Who cares," Severus snarled.

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**Thank you for reading! If you liked this one-shot, check out my finished story "Return of the Prince" (~95,000 words)**


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